A lot at stake with Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy to battle it out for US PGA

It could well be a case of so near, yet so far for this year’s breakthrough golfer Jordan Spieth, who narrowly missed out on keeping his golfing Grand Slam alive at The Open.

However, he is 9/2 favourite with Coral to win the US PGA Championshup, which would make it a clean sweep of majors on native American soil and cap a fantastic year for the recently turned 22-year-old Texan.

Standing in his way though, is 2014 winner and world number one Rory McIlroy, who after missing out on The Open due to a self-inflicted injury will not give this one up without a fight.

The Northern Irishman is right behind Spieth in the betting at 13/2 and will have been frustrated by his 2015 having failed to make a serious impact in either of the majors he has competed in.

Spieth, meanwhile, won the first major of the year; the US Masters in Augusta, at a canter, dominating the field, before heading to Chambers Bay for the US Open to dig in, triumphing with a demonstration of resilience. At St Andrews, it was a case of too little, too late as he made a move on the final day, though credit had to go out to eventual winner Zach Johnson.

Johnson himself is 50/1 for victory, though after his Herculean effort in Scotland is not expected to make it consecutive trophies.

This time last year it was McIlroy who the golfing world was gushing about; and early signs at the beginning of 2015 suggested that the 26-year-old was ready as ever to embark on what many thought would be a record-breaking year for him, and not Spieth.

His new home had become the gym and it could be that he may have pushed himself too hard. The result of this may have been a delayed reaction and coping mechanism for his high-profile split from girlfriend and tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.

While different things affect a golfers’ game, there is no doubt that something has caused McIlroy’s game to be nothing short of the best this year, which makes the final major of the year against arguably the golfer of the year an even more intriguing proposition.